Fuzion Design pioneers Hasbro's new Easy-Bake Oven

For nearly five decades kids have been using the Hasbro Inc. Easy-Bake oven, equipped with a brownie-baking 100-watt light bulb, to make tasty treats for family, friends, and tea-party attendees of …

For nearly five decades kids have been using the Hasbro Inc. Easy-Bake oven, equipped with a brownie-baking 100-watt light bulb, to make tasty treats for family, friends, and tea-party attendees of the stuffed variety.

However, starting in 2012, that high energy bulb will be off the market - replaced by the more energy efficient option of LED or fluorescent bulb. The problem is, you can't bake a cake with those eco-friendly lower wattage bulbs.

So how would little children everywhere continue to make Easy-Bake memories when the classic oven needed to accommodate a modern heating element and electric cord? How would it look?

For the answer Hasbro turned to the product development team of Fuzion Design Inc in Pawtucket.

“Honoring the tradition of the Easy-Bake was the greatest responsibility we faced. It needed to feel contemporary and 'at-home' in mom's kitchen, while still appealing to little girls,” says Wayne Blatchley, vice president and partner of Fuzion Design Inc, “Almost every woman that heard we were redesigning the Easy-Bake shared with us their fond memories of playing with one. It really felt like we were working on something with deep roots in contemporary America.”

Now the new 'Easy-Bake Ultimate Oven' has a whole new look, a face-lift if you will, the brain-child of Fuzion Design Inc. They also designed the graphics.

“We are all very proud of what we accomplished, “ says Blatchley, former creative director at Safety 1st and design manager at Hasbro - two of the world’s largest industry leaders,“ At the time the project began, we were a relatively new company and it was a real feather in our cap that Hasbro trusted Fuzion Design Inc with such an iconic project. Joe Cacciola, the president of Fuzion Design Inc, had experience with the product line during his tenure at Hasbro. Its humbling to think our creative team of designers and engineers played a small part in making toy history.”

The Easy-Bake Oven, whose upcoming changes were recently profiled by Consumer Reports, was inducted into the Toy Hall of Fame 5 years ago with more than 23 million ovens sold at that point.